Epson WorkForce WF-7520 Review and Ratings

Editors’ Rating:

Our Verdict:
This Swiss Army knife of an AIO does everything well (including handle and output oversize documents), but its high cost of ink will make it less attractive for users who need to print in volume. Read More…

Epson WorkForce WF-7520 Review

Introduction

It wasn't long ago that inkjet printers with the ability to print oversize pages (up to 11x17 inches, often called "ledger" or "wide-format") were specialty devices that commanded premium prices—as much as $500, or more. Over the past year or so, though, we've seen a few all-in-one (AIO) models, such as Brother's $299.99 MFC-J6710DW, that not only print ledger-size pages, but can also copy, scan, and fax them. This is a handy advantage for small businesses, seeing as it can eliminate time-consuming trips to the local FedEx outlet when you need oversize prints.

While printer giant Epson has offered single-function wide-format inkjet printers for some time now, the recent debut of two models in the company's WorkForce line of business-ready AIOs shows a different approach. The $249.99 WF-7510 and $299.99 WF-7520 (the model we review here) are Epson's first multifunction (print, copy, scan, and fax) machines that support oversize input and output. The WF-7510 and WF-7520 are essentially the same machine, with identical features and performance; the $50 price premium on the WF-7520 simply gets you a second 250-sheet paper tray.

The WF-7520 is an attractive, well-built machine, and it performed similarly to other higher-end WorkForce models, such as the Epson WorkForce 845, on our benchmark tests. We were a bit surprised, however, that the duplexing automatic document feeder (ADF) worked with documents only up to standard letter-size. (This ADF allows for unassisted two-sided scanning or copying of pages.) Unlike Brother's MFC-J6710DW, which can automatically scan, copy, and fax two-sided wide-format pages, the WF-7520 cannot. It can, however, print pages up to 13x19 inches, which is two inches wider and longer than the ledger-size media (11x17 inches) supported by most competing models, and the largest print size of any AIO we know of.

The extra two inches of output width will be a handy occasional-use convenience feature for many buyers, but bear in mind that output at this size (or any size) with this printer comes at a (very literal) price. That's because the WF-7520 has one of the highest per-page operational costs, or cost per page (CPP) ratings among business-centric AIOs. In nontechnical language, that means its ink cartridges are relatively expensive on a per-print basis. Since Epson builds and markets the WF-7520 as a device meant for high-volume output, we insist that its cost per page should be more competitive. (More on that in the Setup & Paper Handling section, later on.)

The high CPP aside, though, this is an impressive AIO printer. We weathered a few minor bumps with paper feeding and high-quality photograph printing during our tests, but overall this AIO performed well, with exceptional print-output, scan, and copy quality. It's loaded with the features that most small businesses need, and it churns out documents that any company would be proud to distribute to clients and would-be clients. In fact, it did a bunch of things, namely printing, scanning, and copying photographs, better than Brother's wide-format offering.

If quality is more important to your company than a lowest-possible daily operational cost, the WF-7520 belongs on your shopping shortlist. It turns out some of the best-looking documents and images we've seen from a business AIO, wide-format or otherwise.